Proposed Elementary School at SMS Site

MoonHowler

Elena and I have agreed to print a guest post that will ultimately involve many of us here in Prince William County regarding the new elementary school proposal at Stonewall Middle. You will see this same post on bvbl.net. The ladies who present you with this information made arrangements with both Greg and me to disseminate this information to as many people as possible. Please let me know if you need to contact them for more information.  The guest post does not necessarily represent the views of moonhowlings.net administration. 

Guest post by Allison K. and Chris P.

While there have been no new developments built in the Westgate/Sudley area for 25 years, the PWC School Board is proposing that a new elementary school be built at Stonewall Middle School where the track and the bus lot stand today. For a link to the Planning Staff Report, visit http://www.pwcgov.org/planning/documents/PLN2010-00108.pdf

There are three elementary schools in Westgate and Sudley that are all less than a mile apart – Westgate, Sinclair, and Sudley. Westgate is two short blocks away from the proposed new elementary school, Sinclair is approximately four blocks away, and Sudley is approximately 6 blocks away.

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Parliamentarian Robert Dove: The Rules of the Senate

MoonHowler

 Contributor Rez sent me this video on the rules of the Senate.  Robert Dove served as the Senate Parliamentarian from 1981 to 1987 when he was dismissed by Senator Robert Byrd. He then went on to work for Senator Robert Dole until he was reappointed Senate Parliamentarian in 1995. According to that great source of misinformation, Wikipedia:

In 2001, he determined that Senate rules allow only one budget bill per year to be immune from filibuster.[3] The Parliamentarian may delete provisions in a budget bill if the provision has only policy implications or if it has no budgetary implications.[4] In 2001, Dove ruled to remove a Republican provision to allocate over $5 billion in the 2002 budget for natural disasters.[3] Following Republican anger about these rulings, he was dismissed by Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott. [5] Both times Dove was dismissed, he was replaced by Alan Frumin.

Upon leaving the United States Senate, he became a professor at The George Washington University, specializing in Congressional issues.[6]

Why is a Parliamentarian even subject to dismissal? Shouldn’t the Parliamentarian be independent of politics? It would seem to me that the American people would be better served if the Parliamentarian were appointed for a term of x years.

The Rules of the Senate

Hearing Mr. Dove speak reminded me of many of the roasts heard during the various services held for the Lion of the Senate, Teddy Kennedy, upon his death.  As I listened to a political opposite like Senator Orrin Hatch speak of his affection for the late Senator Kennedy, I realized how much of both of their lives had been spent on building coalitions and honest to goodness friendships. The senators need to return to the good old days.

Was Nancy Pelosi “Asking for It?”

MoonHowler

Much as been made on talk shows, radio, electronic media and print media of that famous walk across the capitalgrounds by the Congressional leaders, in particular, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.   The Capitol balcony had Republican congressmen and women holding signs and leading chants from a sea of people on the lawn, the sidewalks and the roadways were lined with angry people shouting ‘kill the bill’ and other slogans. 

The picture below has been circulated all over the Internet.  It has been perceived as a victory lap by both parties. 

That crowd appeared extremely hostile if one is to assume that angry people are hostile.  Depending on who you listen to, the crowds have been described as peaceful but angry and others have called the crowds dangerous, hostile, and that getting through them was very much like running a gauntlet.

Many commentators have criticized Nancy Pelosi and the Congressmen and women for walking on the street.  Many have said they could have chosen another route that didn’t fan the flames. Most Fox News commentators vocalized that Nancy Pelosi did not have to go to the Capitol along that route. Glenn Beck took things a step further.  He accused her of goading the crowd and ‘asking for it:’

[Note:  the date when Pelosi teared up over Harvy Milk was Sept. 2009.  Beck conveniently made it look like her speech was a more recent response.]

 

I have a problem with anyone saying that a person walking on the street is ‘asking for it.’ That is tantamount to saying a rape victim was ‘asking for it’ because of their attire. Should members of congress have to slink away through the underground parking garage? Should the crowd have been allowed to get that close? Should Pelosi et al not walked from one building to the other? The gavel she carried was the one used when Medicare passed.

Have there been other times in history where legislation or election outcomes have been this contentious? Who took their victory laps? Is it tacky to take victory laps? How about the election of 2008? Impeachment hearings, the Civil Rights Act(s)?  I can’t see either party apologizing for passing legislation.

Politics on a Wilding

MoonHowler

Wilding:  3. Slang The act or practice of going about in a group threatening, robbing, or attacking others

Over the past couple of days, shots were fired in the air and a window was shot out at Rep. Cantor’s offices in Richmond.  A gas line was cut at the home of  Rep. Perriello’s brother near Charlottesville.  The address had mistakenly been posted on an ultra- conservative website  out of Lynchburg.  The wrong someone thought it was the congressman’s address.  A substantial number of congressmen and women have had really nasty, threatening phone calls left for them. 

These incidents have stirred up Americans even further  as the health care debate rages on and even after the  passing of that legislation on Sunday.  The cable shows are full of accusations and political rhetoric.  Republicans are blaming the Democrats and the Democrats are blaming the Republicans.  There are racial overtones on top of the political ones.

We are all Americans.  At the end of the day, no matter how much Chris Matthews or Glenn Beck we listen to, we are still Americans.  We are going to have to shut down those feelings that talk show hosts and blogs stir up in us or we are going to become a very sick society.  It just isn’t healthy.  No one knows who is doing nasty things to politicians.  Like the kid who trashed the homes and stores in Gainesville around the election in 2008, some of this vandalism could be some jerks who don’t even know a health care bill passed.  It is sort of like burning sofas and trash cans after a basketball game, when you don’t go to either school. 

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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy Relaxed

MoonHowler
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Thursday, March 25, the military policy known as ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ which was enacted in 1993 under president Bill Clinton to ‘integrate’ gays into the military, was altered. Only Congress can appeal ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’ If you think the new Health Care Legislation was contentious, just revisit gays in the military as a political hot bed of contempt.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” is still the policy for gays in the military in the United States. However, yesterday Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the new rules that relax how a gay person serviing in the military would be eased out if their ‘openess’ became ‘open.’ Sounds like weasel words, doesn’t it?  I have never totally understood ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’ I think it says, its ok to be gay in the military but don’t let anyone find out or they will throw your ass out. Yea, any way you cut it, that’s what the policy says. Let’s take a look at what happened via Time Magazine:

Pentagon took a giant step toward integrating openly gay men and women into the U.S. military on Thursday. No, it didn’t repeal 1993’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law — only Congress can do that. But it did something that could be almost as important: it eased the enforcement of that law by loosening the regulations that have been used to snare 13,500 gays — and boot them out of uniform — since 1994. “These changes will allow us to execute the law in a fair and more appropriate manner,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. The revised regs “provide a greater measure of common sense and common decency to a process for handling what are difficult and complex issues for all involved.”

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Silver Lake, Will it Remain the Jewel of PWC?

Elena

silver lake croppedSilver Lake is such a rare asset, will the county be able to preserve such a beautiful site, I am not too hopeful. Prince William Conservation Alliance has an excellent post up on their blog. If you care about conservation, parks, government process, and integrity, you should click on this link. Make your voices heard, it does make a difference.

A public hearing is scheduled for 7:30 pm tonight strong at the Prince William County Park Authority’s headquarters, at Hellwig Park. It is the first, and perhaps the only, opportunity to comment to the Park Authority Board on the three alternatives developed by county staff for developing recreational facilities at Silver Lake.

Proposed new trails, parking lots, and campgrounds might damage environmentally-sensitive areas – but the maps show only the facilities to be constructed. The three alternatives never identify the environmental assets to be protected. The staff has proposed a standard county park development plan without the ballfields, adding in a fishing pier but ignoring the special character of the Silver Lake site.

Failure to inventory the natural areas at Silver Lake before locating new facilities on a map is an amazing omission. It demonstrates that the Park Authority is locked into its active recreation mindset, and has no clue about managing natural resources.

The staff measures success by how many new things they can build, how much they can change a site. That failure to consider the resources at a site is why the historical places owned by the county were transferred away from the Park Authority, and moved to Public Works.

Another End Run by the BOCS Yesterday

MoonHowler

How dare they!

Yesterday, during Supervisor’s time, (# 8 at 5:06) John Stirrup asked for a directive to send the AG a letter thanking him for protecting their rights because he has filed suit against the federal government.  John Jenkins apparently was the only one with stones enough to object.  The directive was voted on and passed along party lines.  There no citizen input.

Mr. Jenkins called the move political and said it should not be part of the governance of that body.  Mr. Jenkins should be commended for speaking out and both he and Mr. Principi should be praised for going on record in opposition to this incredible  outlandish show of partisanship.  The BOCS has absolutely nothing to with the HCR law that just passed. They are a local governing body.  If they want to individually write to the AG and kiss up to him, that is their business.  Do it on their own time.  They do not have the right to do it for the entire county and they do not speak for me. 

They have pulled an end run.  Those 6 Republican supervisors do not speak for me.  They do not speak for all the citizens of Prince William County.  They did not poll the citizens.  There was no warning.  Now my name goes to an attorney general whom I did not vote for praising him for wasting my money on something I disapprove of doing.

Didn’t they learn a lesson from the initial immigration resolution of July 10, 2007?   John Stirrup must have that tingle going down his leg over this one.  He seemed almost as giddy introducing the directive as he did that night we all saw him on TV at the Republican convention. 

Stirrup, Stewart. May, Nohe, Caddigan, and Covington:  You do not speak for me.  Write your own suck up letter but do not do it in MY name.

Tom Perriello’s Brother had Gas Line Cut

MoonHowler

Rep. Perriello from the Charlottesville  area voted for the Health Care Reform bill.  Today officials and the FBI are looking in to how the propane gas line at his brother’s house got cut.  Political opponents had posted his brother’s address on a website, thinking the address was the congressman’s.   According to msnbc.com:

From NBC’s Pete Williams
Virginia officials, aided by the FBI, are looking into how a residential propane feeder line was cut at the home of the brother of a Virginia congressman.

Investigators have reached no conclusions about how or why it happened. But the line was cut after the home’s address was posted on a blog and a Facebook page, both maintained by members of a local Tea Party group who thought it was the home of Rep. Tom Perriello, a Virginia Democrat who voted in favor of the health-care bill.

One said, “This is Rep. Thomas Stuart Price Perriello’s home address,” and added, “I ain’t holding back anymore!!” The other urged readers to “drop by” the home and “express their thanks” for the vote. 

The cut in the gas line, which runs from a propane tank to a gas grill on a screened-in porch, was discovered Tuesday, the day after the address was posted. When they realized that it was incorrect, the operators of the blog and Faceboook page took the address off.

The chairman of the Lynchburg, VA, Tea Party, Mark Lloyd, told NBC News, “I learned what happened after the fact. We made an official statement on our Web site,” saying that that his group “did not request, sanction, or endorse” posting the address, which appeared on a different Web site.

Tea Party member Nigel Coleman, who wrote one of the Internet posts, told the Charlottesville Daily Progress that he was shocked when he heard about the incident.

Rep. Steny Hoyer reports that threats have been made to around ten Congressmen and women who voted yes to HCR legislation.  Shepherd Smith reports that he is waiting for an update from Capitol Police. 

Please note that the material for this post comes from both MSNBC and from Fox News.   Unfortunately incendiary rhetoric meant to gather the troops sometimes sends some of them off the deep end.  All of us, regardless of party affiliation or ideology must be mindful of our audience and what we say.  Civil debate becomes increasingly more important.  Shepherd Smith gave one of his fierce admonitions about settling political unhappiness and discontent at the ballot box.  I feel certain there will be footage of his remarks.  I will post them.  One bad apple can give many black eyes. 

It goes without saying that any  remarks like that would be removed from this blog.  However, no one here would post like that either.  The blogosphere does have the responsibility to maintain civil discussion.

Daily  Progress Story

Courtland Milloy: Congressmen show grace, restraint in the face of disrespect

MoonHowler

Courtland Milloy is a Metro Section Washington Post columnist. The other day someone on this blog intimated that I would have no idea how a black person would feel and that I was insulting. Let’s look at it through someone’s eyes who meets all the qualifications. I have no opinion. Milloy has been with the Washington Post since 1983. I found the opinion piece to be rather humbling. I would like to highlight someone else’s opinion. We don’t have to agree with Milloy, but we need to view this incident through someone’s eyes other than our own. These are not MY sentiments but I feel it is imperative that we acknowledge how someone else might feel.
 

 Washington Post 3/24/10

Courtland Milloy: Congressmen show grace, restraint in the face of disrespect

I know how the “tea party” people feel, the anger, venom and bile that many of them showed during the recent House vote on health-care reform. I know because I want to spit on them, take one of their “Obama Plan White Slavery” signsand knock every racist and homophobic tooth out of their Cro-Magnon heads.

I am sick of these people — and those who make excuses for them and their victim-whiner mentality.

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Update on Mississippi Teen Lesbian and the Prom

MoonHowler

A follow up on the original story about  Constance McMillan’s desire to go to her own prom with her girl friend has lead to a less than conclusive end:

 

ABERDEEN, Miss. — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Itawamba County, Miss., school board violated the rights of a lesbian student by canceling the prom when the student challenged a ban on same-sex dates, but the judge stopped short of ordering the district to reinstate the April 2 prom.U.S. District Court Judge Glen Davidson said he denied the injunction request because a private prom parents are planning will serve the same purpose as the school prom and because “requiring defendants to step back into a sponsorship role at this late date would only confuse and confound the community on the issue.”

 Did Constance win/lose or did she lose/win?  The school violated her rights.  However the judge isn’t going to make things right.  The school will not be forced to have a prom.  The private prom folks will not be forced to admit Constance.  Constance must go to the gay and lesbian prom instead of to her school prom.  Does this sound like forced segregation to you?

The federal judge sounds like the chicken you-know- what judge to me.  I thought the entire point of these kinds of court rulings was to either say yes her rights were violated and fix things or no her rights were not violated, go home and get over it.   I guess there is a lot of laughter and snickering in the Itawamba County school district today.  I guess they showed “them thar dykes a thing or 3 now didn’t they?”   What a shame that this young woman’s civil rights weren’t upheld. 

Maybe Constance McMillan has the last laugh after all.  She appeared on the” Ellen” and was awareded $30,000 in scholarship money by the talk show host who said she was so proud of her.  DeGeneres said:

“I admire you so much. “When I was your age I never would have had the strength to do what you are doing.”

 

Meanwhile, her ACLU lawyer is preparing round 2 of her legal battle. 

USA Today story

No Viagra for Sex Offenders

MoonHowler


Rep. (Dr.) Tom Coburn (R-OK) has introduced an amendment he feels most Democrats will support also:

No Erectile Dysfunction Drugs To Sex Offenders – This amendment would enact recommendations from the Government Accountability Office to stop fraudulent payments for prescription drugs prescribed by dead providers or, to dead patients. This amendment also prohibits coverage of Viagra and other ED medications to convicted child molesters, rapists, and sex offenders, and prohibits coverage of abortion drugs. (Note: the creation of exchanges could allow sex offenders to receive taxpayer-funded Viagra and other ED drugs unless Congress expressly prohibits this action

I guess I want to know why sex offenders are in a place where they would need ED products. What about when they have served their time. In addition to being on the sex offender list would they be banned from ED materials? (not that I care) Where do abortion drugs fit into this profile? Granted I am posting  an excerpt, but I don’t know how many sex offenders are standing in line for abortion drugs. I think I would need to see a list of what these abortion drugs are before I pull down the red flags that have shot up.

Meanwhile, I am all in favor of not giving sex offenders Viagra with taxpayer money.  Of course, this begs the question:  Can they buy it with their own money?   I suppose it depends on how badly they want it.

Politico

Can We Expect More Violence?

Elena

Democratic offices vandalized
By JUDY L. THOMAS

The Star

Authorities in Wichita and some other cities across the country are investigating vandalism against Democratic offices, apparently in response to health care reform.

And on Monday, a former Alabama militia leader took credit for instigating the actions.

Mike Vanderboegh of Pinson, Ala., former leader of the Alabama Constitutional Militia, put out a call on Friday for modern “Sons of Liberty” to break the windows of Democratic Party offices nationwide in opposition to health care reform. Since then, vandals have struck several offices, including the Sedgwick County Democratic Party headquarters in Wichita.

“There’s glass everywhere,” said Lyndsay Stauble, executive director of the Sedgwick County Democratic Party. “A brick took out the whole floor-to-ceiling window and put a gouge in my desk.”

Stauble said the brick, hurled through the window between Friday night and Saturday morning, had “some anti-Obama rhetoric” written on it.

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Incivility and When Perception Becomes Reality

MoonHowler

in·ci·vil·i·ty (ns-vl-t)

n. pl. in·ci·vil·i·ties 1. The quality or condition of being uncivil.

2. An uncivil or discourteous act.

 

Just for a moment, remove any accusation of racial slur, the N-word, or spitting.  How many of us would like to be an older black man having to walk through an angry mob of white people screaming, taunting, booing, hissing and whatever else they were doing.  Those congressman practically had to part the white sea to even move through the crowd. 

In the first place, the crowd should not have been that close.  The congressmen should have had  police escort.  I found myself having bad flashbacks to things I have seen on TV throughout my life, things that were going on during my lifetime.    No one should dismiss it.  Those men were brave to make that walk.  If one of them said he was spat on, then he was.  Perhaps it was just the spray from the vehenom of hatred spewing from a protestors mouth, but spit is spit–stream, lunger or spray, all gross.

Note: The video is the one Cargo Squid referenced.

“Baby Killer” Utterer Randy Neugebauer Turns Himself In

MoonHowler

As anti-abortion Democrat Bart Stupak attempted to speak on the House floor, a lone voice called out what sounded like ‘Baby Killer.‘  The entire House errupted in muffled whispers over the affrontery.  Gavels were banged and people whispered back and forth over what they thought they heard.  Rep. Stupak had held out his vote for Health Care Reform until President Obama promised to write an executive order stating no public funds were to be used for abortion.   The ‘baby killer’ remark must have smarted.  Again, rudeness. 

Now the shouter has stepped forward and confessed, along with a little equivocation.  It seems that he meant the Health Care Reform legislation was a baby killer, not Stupak.  Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Tx)  had the following to say:

Last night was the climax of weeks and months of debate on a health care bill that my constituents fear and do not support. In the heat and emotion of the debate, I exclaimed the phrase ‘it’s a baby killer’ in reference to the agreement reached by the Democratic leadership. While I remain heartbroken over the passage of this bill and the tragic consequences it will have for the unborn, I deeply regret that my actions were mistakenly interpreted as a direct reference to Congressman Stupak himself.
“I have apologized to Mr. Stupak and also apologize to my colleagues for the manner in which I expressed my disappointment about the bill. The House Chamber is a place of decorum and respect. The timing and tone of my comment last night was inappropriate.”

Yea right, Mr. Neugebauer. Let’s have a listen. It’s brief:

We must live in an ‘anything goes’ culture where the rules of civilized society have been abandoned. On the national level, Members of Congress call the the President a liar, call each other names like ‘ Baby Killer.’ Outside, protestors spit, make racial slurs, and threaten with gun signs. At the local level a supervisor thinks its ok to call his constituents names and refer to them as ‘crap.’ There must be some rules of decorum. It’s one thing to speak informally with friends. It’s quite another to make public statements and direct racial slurs at people. The threatening and bullying must stop. And our leaders and entertainers who reach into millions and millions of homes per day must stop aiding, abetting and inciting this kind of behavior.

Vicki Kennedy Praises Health Care Passage

MoonHowler

The huge unseen presence hung over the Capitol yesterday as the democrats voted for the hotly debated Health Care Reform Legislation.  That presence was the spirit of the Lion of the Senate:  Senator Teddy Kennedy.  Health Care Legislation was Kennedy’s life-long goal during his long tenure in public service.  His widow, Vicki Kennedy, visited the grave of her deceased husband to reflect.

 

 

Huffington Post:

Appearing on CNN’s ‘John King, USA’ the widow of former Sen. Ted Kennedy pointed to the commitment made by President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi as particularly critical for reform’s passage.

“I think that President Obama showed incredible determination and courage and focus when he continued this battle; and Speaker Pelosi to continue to rally the troops and the leaders in the House of Representatives showed incredible determination and focus and courage,” Kennedy said. “And I think it is a real tribute to all the members of the House of Representatives as well. I think it is a real tribute to all of them and I am deeply, deeply, grateful, as I think are the American people.”
Kennedy echoed a common refrain from her late husband — a longtime health care reform champion — in arguing that the public will fully embrace the legislation’s passage.

“You know Teddy always said that when we finally pass health care reform and when people understand what’s in the bill and what benefits there are for them, they are going to say ‘What took you so long?’ And I think that’s going to happen here,” Kennedy said